Jassette Donaldson, 53, a checkout assistant from Leytonstone, east London, who has fought for months to keep her three-bedroom house, is not sure if the government's repossession scheme will help her. She has been given 56 days to sell her house after falling behind with her £1,230-a-month mortgage repayments in 2005

"I ruled myself out of this," she says of the scheme . But so few details have been released that homeless charities are unsure who will qualify. Shelter, which helps people facing repossession, was inundated with phone calls yesterday from confused people and local councils asking them who can benefit from the scheme.

Donaldson was unable to keep up with her mortgage after she was hit by a car and had to take six months off work. She then returned part-time and was supporting her daughter at university.

She went to court and made some repayments with help from her son, but he is now unable to help further. Donaldson, who suffers from arthritis and sciatica, said: "Sometimes I can't walk as I'm in too much pain but my employers are threatening to sack me because I'm off work."

When the Guardian spoke to her two weeks ago, her solicitor was about to go to court for the second time to ask the judge if she could have more time to sell her house. The courts granted her 56 more days.

Her house was valued at £300,000, but is on sale for £250,000. She also had to buy a home information pack, which cost £300, to put her house on the market. "I could've used that money to help with my mortgage repayments," she said.